Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 December 25 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Geminids and the Mittens Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Chuck Derus Explanation: [5]Asteroid 3200 Phaethon's annual [6]gift to planet Earth always arrives [7]in December. Otherwise known as [8]the Geminid meteor shower, the source of the meteroid stream is dust shed along the orbit of the [9]mysterious asteroid. Near the December 13/14 peak of the shower's activity, geminid meteors are captured in this night skyscape, composited from 22 images of [10]starry sky taken before the moon rose over [11]Monument Valley in the American southwest. The bright stars near the position of the shower's radiant are the constellation [12]Gemini's twin stars Castor (blue) and Pollux (yellow). [13]As Earth sweeps through the dusty stream, the parallel meteor trails appear to radiate from a point on the sky in Gemini due to perspective, and so the yearly shower is named for the constellation. From the camera's perspective, this view of three prominent buttes across Monument Valley also suggests appropriate names for [14]two of them. The third one is called [15]Merrick Butte. Tomorrow's picture: the dragon's egg __________________________________________________________________ [16]< | [17]Archive | [18]Submissions | [19]Index | [20]Search | [21]Calendar | [22]RSS | [23]Education | [24]About APOD | [25]Discuss | [26]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [27]Robert Nemiroff ([28]MTU) & [29]Jerry Bonnell ([30]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [31]Specific rights apply. [32]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [33]ASD at [34]NASA / [35]GSFC, [36]NASA Science Activation & [37]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2212/J7A6402-Edit-copy-sharpened.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. https://cderus.zenfolio.com/ 5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap171223.html 6. https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2022/12/23/crew-goes-into-christmas-weekend-after-spacewalk-and-science-ops/ 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap181222.html 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221216.html 9. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/lunar/phaethon.html 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071225.html 11. https://navajonationparks.org/tribal-parks/monument-valley/ 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170516.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211216.html 14. https://utahscanyoncountry.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/mitten-shadow-allison-yamamoto-sparks-.jpg 15. https://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/monument_valley/merrick-butte2_l.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221224.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 20. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 25. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=221225 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221226.html 27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 28. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 30. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 32. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 33. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 34. https://www.nasa.gov/ 35. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 36. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 37. http://www.mtu.edu/